'Courts issue such orders on such petitions. I just tried to save the CM's life,' an unfazed LDF convener Jayarajan tells South First.
The court directed the police to slap charges of attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy against LDF convener EP Jayarajan. (Facebook)
In a severe and unexpected setback to Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), a court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, 20 July, ordered that CPI(M) central committee member EP Jayarajan be booked for manhandling two Youth Congress activists on board an Indigo flight as they attempted to shout slogans against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Leni Thomas, the first-class judicial magistrate of Thiruvananthapuram, directed the Valiyathura police to file an FIR and initiate an investigation against Jayarajan and two members of the chief minister’s personal staff, VM Suneesh and Anil Kumar.
The court directed the police to slap charges of attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy against Jayarajan.
The court order came on a petition filed by Youth Congress workers Farseen Majeed and Maveen Kumar, who shouted slogans against the chief minister when the flight from Kannur landed in Thiruvananthapuram on 13 July and the doors were opened.
Videos that went viral on social media showed Jayarajan pushing down the slogan-shouting Youth Congress activists.
The workers claimed though theirs was a peaceful protest, Jayarajan manhandled them and showered abuses on them. The personal staff of the chief minister also roughed them up, they claimed.
Images of the two being moved in wheelchairs from the flight following the incident were submitted with the petition.
E P Jayarajan (Right) with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (Left) and CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (Right).
The court order came a day after the chief minister told the state assembly that no legal action would be initiated against Jayarajan as he only tried to save him (Vijayan) from an attempt to murder.
The Youth Congress activists moved court after the police refused to register cases on their complaints. On the contrary, they were slapped with attempt to murder and conspiracy charges and underwent judicial custody for 15 days.
They are now on bail, but Youth Congress state vice-president KS Sabarinadh was arrested on Tuesday, 19 July, morning by the police. He was accused of engaging in a WhatsApp conspiracy with the activists to make an attempt on Vijayan life.
A Thiruvananthapuram court, however, granted him bail late in the evening, saying a mention about waving black flags as a protest against the chief minister could not be considered an attempt to murder conspiracy.
On Monday, IndiGo airline had placed Jayarajan on its “no-fly” list for three weeks after an internal inquiry found the veteran leader aggravated the scene when two Congress workers raised slogans against Vijayan.
The two Youth Congress workers were also handed out two-week flying bans under rules governing unruly passengers.
When contacted by South First, Jayarajan said there was nothing new or important in the court order.
“It is quite natural that courts issue such orders on such petitions. It is not a setback for me or the LDF government. I just tried to save the life of Vijayan,” he said.
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